use refs rather than document query selection to find tooltip position (or just to find sidebar rect for furture features that require it)

frontend/src/components/shared/QuickAccessBar.tsx

@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-import React, { useState, useRef } from "react";
+import React, { useState, useRef, forwardRef } from "react";
 import { ActionIcon, Stack, Tooltip, Divider } from "@mantine/core";
 import MenuBookIcon from "@mui/icons-material/MenuBookRounded";
 import AppsIcon from "@mui/icons-material/AppsRounded";
@@ -8,32 +8,12 @@ import FolderIcon from "@mui/icons-material/FolderRounded";
 import PersonIcon from "@mui/icons-material/PersonRounded";
 import NotificationsIcon from "@mui/icons-material/NotificationsRounded";
 import { useRainbowThemeContext } from "./RainbowThemeProvider";
-import rainbowStyles from '../../styles/rainbow.module.css';
 import AppConfigModal from './AppConfigModal';
 import { useIsOverflowing } from '../../hooks/useIsOverflowing';
 import { useFilesModalContext } from '../../contexts/FilesModalContext';
+import { QuickAccessBarProps, ButtonConfig } from '../../types/sidebar';
 import './QuickAccessBar.css';
 
-interface QuickAccessBarProps {
-  onToolsClick: () => void;
-  onReaderToggle: () => void;
-  selectedToolKey?: string;
-  toolRegistry: any;
-  leftPanelView: 'toolPicker' | 'toolContent';
-  readerMode: boolean;
-}
-
-interface ButtonConfig {
-  id: string;
-  name: string;
-  icon: React.ReactNode;
-  tooltip: string;
-  isRound?: boolean;
-  size?: 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg' | 'xl';
-  onClick: () => void;
-  type?: 'navigation' | 'modal' | 'action'; // navigation = main nav, modal = triggers modal, action = other actions
-}
-
 function NavHeader({ 
   activeButton, 
   setActiveButton, 
@@ -104,14 +84,10 @@ function NavHeader({
   );
 }
 
-const QuickAccessBar = ({
+const QuickAccessBar = forwardRef<HTMLDivElement, QuickAccessBarProps>(({
   onToolsClick,
   onReaderToggle,
-  selectedToolKey,
-  toolRegistry,
-  leftPanelView,
-  readerMode,
-}: QuickAccessBarProps) => {
+}, ref) => {
   const { isRainbowMode } = useRainbowThemeContext();
   const { openFilesModal, isFilesModalOpen } = useFilesModalContext();
   const [configModalOpen, setConfigModalOpen] = useState(false);
@@ -234,6 +210,7 @@ const QuickAccessBar = ({
 
   return (
     <div
+      ref={ref}
       data-sidebar="quick-access"
       className={`h-screen flex flex-col w-20 quick-access-bar-main ${isRainbowMode ? 'rainbow-mode' : ''}`}
     >
@@ -336,6 +313,6 @@ const QuickAccessBar = ({
       />
     </div>
   );
-};
+});
 
 export default QuickAccessBar;

frontend/src/components/shared/Tooltip.tsx

@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { createPortal } from 'react-dom';
 import { isClickOutside, addEventListenerWithCleanup } from '../../utils/genericUtils';
 import { useTooltipPosition } from '../../hooks/useTooltipPosition';
 import { TooltipContent, TooltipTip } from './tooltip/TooltipContent';
+import { useSidebarContext } from '../../contexts/SidebarContext';
 import styles from './tooltip/Tooltip.module.css'
 
 export interface TooltipProps {
@@ -43,6 +44,9 @@ export const Tooltip: React.FC<TooltipProps> = ({
   const tooltipRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
   const hoverTimeoutRef = useRef<ReturnType<typeof setTimeout> | null>(null);
   
+  // Get sidebar context for tooltip positioning
+  const sidebarContext = sidebarTooltip ? useSidebarContext() : null;
+
   // Always use controlled mode - if no controlled props provided, use internal state
   const isControlled = controlledOpen !== undefined;
   const open = isControlled ? controlledOpen : internalOpen;
@@ -80,7 +84,9 @@ export const Tooltip: React.FC<TooltipProps> = ({
     position,
     gap,
     triggerRef,
-    tooltipRef
+    tooltipRef,
+    sidebarRefs: sidebarContext?.sidebarRefs,
+    sidebarState: sidebarContext?.sidebarState
   });
 
   // Add document click listener for unpinning

frontend/src/components/shared/tooltip/Tooltip.README.md

@@ -217,5 +217,7 @@ Links automatically get proper styling with hover states and open in new tabs wh
 ### Sidebar Tooltips
 - When `sidebarTooltip={true}`, horizontal positioning is locked to the right of the sidebar
 - Vertical positioning follows the trigger but clamps to viewport
-- Automatically detects sidebar width or falls back to 240px
+- **Smart sidebar detection**: Uses `getSidebarInfo()` to determine which sidebar is active (tool panel vs quick access bar) and gets its exact position
+- **Dynamic positioning**: Adapts to whether the tool panel is expanded or collapsed
+- **Conditional display**: Only shows tooltips when the tool panel is active (`sidebarInfo.isToolPanelActive`)
 - **No arrows** - sidebar tooltips don't show arrows

frontend/src/components/tips/CompressTips.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
-import { TooltipContent } from './types';
+import { TooltipContent } from '../../types/tips';
 
 export const CompressTips = (): TooltipContent => {
   const { t } = useTranslation();

frontend/src/components/tips/OCRTips.ts

@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
-import { TooltipContent } from './types';
+import { TooltipContent } from '../../types/tips';
 
 export const OcrTips = (): TooltipContent => {
   const { t } = useTranslation();

frontend/src/contexts/SidebarContext.tsx

@@ -0,0 +1,47 @@
+import React, { createContext, useContext, useState, useRef } from 'react';
+import { SidebarState, SidebarRefs, SidebarContextValue, SidebarProviderProps } from '../types/sidebar';
+
+const SidebarContext = createContext<SidebarContextValue | undefined>(undefined);
+
+export function SidebarProvider({ children }: SidebarProviderProps) {
+  // All sidebar state management
+  const quickAccessRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+  const toolPanelRef = useRef<HTMLDivElement>(null);
+  
+  const [sidebarsVisible, setSidebarsVisible] = useState(true);
+  const [leftPanelView, setLeftPanelView] = useState<'toolPicker' | 'toolContent'>('toolPicker');
+  const [readerMode, setReaderMode] = useState(false);
+
+  const sidebarState: SidebarState = {
+    sidebarsVisible,
+    leftPanelView,
+    readerMode,
+  };
+
+  const sidebarRefs: SidebarRefs = {
+    quickAccessRef,
+    toolPanelRef,
+  };
+
+  const contextValue: SidebarContextValue = {
+    sidebarState,
+    sidebarRefs,
+    setSidebarsVisible,
+    setLeftPanelView,
+    setReaderMode,
+  };
+
+  return (
+    <SidebarContext.Provider value={contextValue}>
+      {children}
+    </SidebarContext.Provider>
+  );
+}
+
+export function useSidebarContext(): SidebarContextValue {
+  const context = useContext(SidebarContext);
+  if (context === undefined) {
+    throw new Error('useSidebarContext must be used within a SidebarProvider');
+  }
+  return context;
+} 

frontend/src/hooks/useTooltipPosition.ts

@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 import { useState, useEffect, useMemo } from 'react';
 import { clamp } from '../utils/genericUtils';
-import { getSidebarRect } from '../utils/sidebarUtils';
+import { getSidebarInfo } from '../utils/sidebarUtils';
+import { SidebarRefs, SidebarState } from '../types/sidebar';
 
 type Position = 'right' | 'left' | 'top' | 'bottom';
 
@@ -51,7 +52,9 @@ export function useTooltipPosition({
   position,
   gap,
   triggerRef,
-  tooltipRef
+  tooltipRef,
+  sidebarRefs,
+  sidebarState
 }: {
   open: boolean;
   sidebarTooltip: boolean;
@@ -59,6 +62,8 @@ export function useTooltipPosition({
   gap: number;
   triggerRef: React.RefObject<HTMLElement | null>;
   tooltipRef: React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement | null>;
+  sidebarRefs?: SidebarRefs;
+  sidebarState?: SidebarState;
 }): PositionState {
   const [coords, setCoords] = useState<{ top: number; left: number; arrowOffset: number | null }>({ 
     top: 0, 
@@ -67,12 +72,8 @@ export function useTooltipPosition({
   });
   const [positionReady, setPositionReady] = useState(false);
 
-  // Memoize sidebar position for performance
-  const sidebarLeft = useMemo(() => {
-    if (!sidebarTooltip) return 0;
-    const sidebarInfo = getSidebarRect();
-    return sidebarInfo.rect ? sidebarInfo.rect.right : 240;
-  }, [sidebarTooltip]);
+  // Fallback sidebar position (only used as last resort)
+  const sidebarLeft = 240;
 
   const updatePosition = () => {
     if (!triggerRef.current || !open) return;
@@ -84,18 +85,24 @@ export function useTooltipPosition({
     let arrowOffset: number | null = null;
 
     if (sidebarTooltip) {
-      // Get fresh sidebar position each time
-      const sidebarInfo = getSidebarRect();
-      const currentSidebarRight = sidebarInfo.rect ? sidebarInfo.rect.right : sidebarLeft;
-
-      // Only show tooltip if we have the correct sidebar (ToolPanel)
-      if (!sidebarInfo.isCorrectSidebar) {
-        console.log('🚫 Not showing tooltip - wrong sidebar detected');
+      // Require sidebar refs and state for proper positioning
+      if (!sidebarRefs || !sidebarState) {
+        console.warn('⚠️ Sidebar tooltip requires sidebarRefs and sidebarState props');
         setPositionReady(false);
         return;
       }
 
-      // Position to the right of correct sidebar with 20px gap
+      const sidebarInfo = getSidebarInfo(sidebarRefs, sidebarState);
+      const currentSidebarRight = sidebarInfo.rect ? sidebarInfo.rect.right : sidebarLeft;
+
+      // Only show tooltip if we have the tool panel active
+      if (!sidebarInfo.isToolPanelActive) {
+        console.log('🚫 Not showing tooltip - tool panel not active');
+        setPositionReady(false);
+        return;
+      }
+
+      // Position to the right of active sidebar with 20px gap
       left = currentSidebarRight + 20;
       top = triggerRect.top; // Align top of tooltip with trigger element
 

frontend/src/pages/HomePage.tsx

@@ -2,11 +2,13 @@ import React, { useState, useCallback, useEffect, useRef } from "react";
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 import { useFileContext } from "../contexts/FileContext";
 import { FileSelectionProvider, useFileSelection } from "../contexts/FileSelectionContext";
+import { SidebarProvider, useSidebarContext } from "../contexts/SidebarContext";
 import { useToolManagement } from "../hooks/useToolManagement";
 import { useFileHandler } from "../hooks/useFileHandler";
 import { Group, Box, Button } from "@mantine/core";
 import { useRainbowThemeContext } from "../components/shared/RainbowThemeProvider";
 import { PageEditorFunctions } from "../types/pageEditor";
+import { SidebarRefs, SidebarState } from "../types/sidebar";
 import rainbowStyles from '../styles/rainbow.module.css';
 
 import ToolPicker from "../components/tools/ToolPicker";
@@ -20,9 +22,20 @@ import QuickAccessBar from "../components/shared/QuickAccessBar";
 import LandingPage from "../components/shared/LandingPage";
 import FileUploadModal from "../components/shared/FileUploadModal";
 
+
 function HomePageContent() {
   const { t } = useTranslation();
   const { isRainbowMode } = useRainbowThemeContext();
+  const { 
+    sidebarState, 
+    sidebarRefs, 
+    setSidebarsVisible, 
+    setLeftPanelView, 
+    setReaderMode 
+  } = useSidebarContext();
+  
+  const { sidebarsVisible, leftPanelView, readerMode } = sidebarState;
+  const { quickAccessRef, toolPanelRef } = sidebarRefs;
 
   const fileContext = useFileContext();
   const { activeFiles, currentView, setCurrentView } = fileContext;
@@ -37,9 +50,6 @@ function HomePageContent() {
     clearToolSelection,
   } = useToolManagement();
 
-  const [sidebarsVisible, setSidebarsVisible] = useState(true);
-  const [leftPanelView, setLeftPanelView] = useState<'toolPicker' | 'toolContent'>('toolPicker');
-  const [readerMode, setReaderMode] = useState(false);
   const [pageEditorFunctions, setPageEditorFunctions] = useState<PageEditorFunctions | null>(null);
   const [previewFile, setPreviewFile] = useState<File | null>(null);
 
@@ -92,16 +102,14 @@ function HomePageContent() {
     >
       {/* Quick Access Bar */}
       <QuickAccessBar
+        ref={quickAccessRef}
         onToolsClick={handleQuickAccessTools}
         onReaderToggle={handleReaderToggle}
-        selectedToolKey={selectedToolKey}
-        toolRegistry={toolRegistry}
-        leftPanelView={leftPanelView}
-        readerMode={readerMode}
       />
 
       {/* Left: Tool Picker or Selected Tool Panel */}
       <div
+        ref={toolPanelRef}
         data-sidebar="tool-panel"
         className={`h-screen flex flex-col overflow-hidden bg-[var(--bg-toolbar)] border-r border-[var(--border-subtle)] transition-all duration-300 ease-out ${isRainbowMode ? rainbowStyles.rainbowPaper : ''}`}
         style={{
@@ -280,7 +288,9 @@ function HomePageContent() {
 export default function HomePage() {
   return (
     <FileSelectionProvider>
-      <HomePageContent />
+      <SidebarProvider>
+        <HomePageContent />
+      </SidebarProvider>
     </FileSelectionProvider>
   );
 }

frontend/src/types/sidebar.ts

@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+export interface SidebarState {
+  sidebarsVisible: boolean;
+  leftPanelView: 'toolPicker' | 'toolContent';
+  readerMode: boolean;
+}
+
+export interface SidebarRefs {
+  quickAccessRef: React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement | null>;
+  toolPanelRef: React.RefObject<HTMLDivElement | null>;
+}
+
+export interface SidebarInfo {
+  rect: DOMRect | null;
+  isToolPanelActive: boolean;
+  sidebarState: SidebarState;
+}
+
+// Context-related interfaces
+export interface SidebarContextValue {
+  sidebarState: SidebarState;
+  sidebarRefs: SidebarRefs;
+  setSidebarsVisible: React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<boolean>>;
+  setLeftPanelView: React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<'toolPicker' | 'toolContent'>>;
+  setReaderMode: React.Dispatch<React.SetStateAction<boolean>>;
+}
+
+export interface SidebarProviderProps {
+  children: React.ReactNode;
+}
+
+// QuickAccessBar related interfaces
+export interface QuickAccessBarProps {
+  onToolsClick: () => void;
+  onReaderToggle: () => void;
+}
+
+export interface ButtonConfig {
+  id: string;
+  name: string;
+  icon: React.ReactNode;
+  tooltip: string;
+  isRound?: boolean;
+  size?: 'sm' | 'md' | 'lg' | 'xl';
+  onClick: () => void;
+  type?: 'navigation' | 'modal' | 'action';
+}

frontend/src/utils/sidebarUtils.ts

@@ -1,50 +1,34 @@
+import { SidebarRefs, SidebarState, SidebarInfo } from '../types/sidebar';
 
 /**
- * Gets the All tools sidebar 
- * @returns Object containing the sidebar rect and whether it's the correct sidebar
+ * Gets the All tools sidebar information using React refs and state
+ * @param refs - Object containing refs to sidebar elements
+ * @param state - Current sidebar state
+ * @returns Object containing the sidebar rect and whether the tool panel is active
  */
-export function getSidebarRect(): { rect: DOMRect | null, isCorrectSidebar: boolean } {
-    // Find the rightmost sidebar - this will be the "All Tools" expanded panel
-    const allSidebars = [];
+export function getSidebarInfo(refs: SidebarRefs, state: SidebarState): SidebarInfo {
+  const { quickAccessRef, toolPanelRef } = refs;
+  const { sidebarsVisible, readerMode } = state;
   
-    // Find the QuickAccessBar (narrow left bar)
-    const quickAccessBar = document.querySelector('[data-sidebar="quick-access"]');
-    if (quickAccessBar) {
-      const rect = quickAccessBar.getBoundingClientRect();
-      if (rect.width > 0) {
-        allSidebars.push({
-          element: 'QuickAccessBar',
-          selector: '[data-sidebar="quick-access"]',
-          rect
-        });
-      }
-    }
+  // Determine if tool panel should be active based on state
+  const isToolPanelActive = sidebarsVisible && !readerMode;
   
-    // Find the tool panel (the expanded "All Tools" panel)  
-    const toolPanel = document.querySelector('[data-sidebar="tool-panel"]');
-    if (toolPanel) {
-      const rect = toolPanel.getBoundingClientRect();
-      if (rect.width > 0) {
-        allSidebars.push({
-          element: 'ToolPanel',
-          selector: '[data-sidebar="tool-panel"]',
-          rect
-        });
-      }
-    }
+  let rect: DOMRect | null = null;
   
-    // Use the rightmost sidebar (which should be the tool panel when expanded)
-    if (allSidebars.length > 0) {
-      const rightmostSidebar = allSidebars.reduce((rightmost, current) => {
-        return current.rect.right > rightmost.rect.right ? current : rightmost;
-      });
-  
-      // Only consider it correct if we're using the ToolPanel (expanded All Tools sidebar)
-      const isCorrectSidebar = rightmostSidebar.element === 'ToolPanel';
-      return { rect: rightmostSidebar.rect, isCorrectSidebar };
-    }
-  
-    console.warn('⚠️ No sidebars found, using fallback positioning');
-    // Final fallback
-    return { rect: new DOMRect(0, 0, 280, window.innerHeight), isCorrectSidebar: false };
+  if (isToolPanelActive && toolPanelRef.current) {
+    // Tool panel is expanded: use its rect
+    rect = toolPanelRef.current.getBoundingClientRect();
+  } else if (quickAccessRef.current) {
+    // Fall back to quick access bar
+    // This probably isn't needed but if we ever have tooltips or modals that need to be positioned relative to the quick access bar, we can use this
+    rect = quickAccessRef.current.getBoundingClientRect();
   }
+  
+  return {
+    rect,
+    isToolPanelActive,
+    sidebarState: state
+  };
+}
+
+